Bitcoin’s Transaction Drought: Network Fees Hit 1 Satoshi per Transfer as Mempool Clears

According to current metrics, at around 6 p.m. ET on March 31, the Bitcoin blockchain experienced a curious decline in transactional throughput, with blocks failing to reach optimal capacity. Beginning at block 890,138, a sequence of more than a couple dozen blocks exhibited diminished size, deviating from the network’s typical operational rhythm.

Where Have All the Bitcoin Transactions Gone?

A tranquility has settled over the Bitcoin blockchain network, marked by the complete emptying of its transactional mempool—the digital staging area for pending transfers. Today, around block 890,138 on March 31, this virtual holding zone was entirely drained, leaving a mere 500 to 1,311 transactions awaiting processing, a quantity typically resolved within a single subsequent data block.

At block 890,321, transactional fees on the Bitcoin network have plummeted to a mere 1 satoshi per virtual byte (sat/vB), translating to around $0.12 per exchange. This rate, whether for leisurely low-priority transfers or urgent dispatches, is efficiently propelling all transactions to confirmation. Amplifying this equilibrium is the current block interval tempo—the temporal gap between mined blocks—which, per hashrateindex.com, averages 9 minutes and 38 seconds.

This deviation mirrors an uncommon divergence from Bitcoin’s historical performance observed in prior years, sparking analysis of potential user-driven or systemic influences. In 2024, the network achieved an unprecedented milestone, nearly reaching 1 million daily confirmed transfers—a zenith fueled by the frenetic adoption of Ordinal inscriptions. However, the inscription momentum waned markedly by late 2024, extending into 2025.

Further complicating the calculus is the sheer volume of bitcoin amassed by entities such as Strategy and MARA, coupled with the proliferation of custodial exchange-traded funds (ETFs) safeguarding substantial reserves. All of these UTXOs are sitting pretty and will likely not be spent for long periods, even several years, if that. Notably, the pattern persists without immediate resolution, offering a compelling case study in blockchain dynamics and resource allocation.

By block height 890,322, transactions started to pile up again with a little over 3,000 transfers in the mempool and 2 blocks deep of transfers. Onchain fees have also increased to 3 to 4 sat/vB at 7:20 p.m. ET on Monday evening.

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